1949 Plymouth P18 station wagon

A seldom-seen classic hauler that looks wonderful in wood

Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News

Imagine, in our world of streamlined, rush-it-out production, what it was like to assemble this car. Chrysler owned its own woodworking plant, Pekin Wood, just off the Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas. In the years following World War II, it produced ash frames and panels for Chrysler vehicles such as this wondrous 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe P-18 wagon. Meanwhile, a separate factory, U.S. Body & Forging, produced structural steel for the wagon in Frankfort, Kentucky. All the pieces then went to a dedicated Chrysler wagon assembly plant in Evansville, Indiana, where line workers painstakingly screwed everything together before brushing on coats of varnish.

Article continues after advertisement

Now, try to further imagine the per-unit labor costs that had to amortize across each new Ply-mouth woody wagon. It should surprise nobody, then, that in 1949, Chrysler was evaluating the use of Di-Noc "wood" appliqué on its basic Royal wagon line. But in 1949, a Plymouth wagon like this Special Deluxe had elegant wooden body panels. And let's make clear that the Special Deluxe was, well, pretty special. At $2,372 new, it rivaled some pretty prestigious Buicks from the standpoint of pricing, rather than the typical Mayflower segmentation. That, in turn, assured that the Special Deluxe station wagon was a very seldom-seen treat for discriminating buyers. Of the 508,000 cars that Plymouth produced in 1949, a mere 3,443 were Special Deluxe wagons.
Walk around a P-18 wagon, and you'll note some features that predate those of much larger wagons, and even today's SUVs and minivans. For instance, the rear doors may have very basic sliding glass, but the rear seats, assembled on stout tubular frames, can be folded down or tipped forward into the footwells for added access. That allows passengers to reach a forward-facing rear seat in the cargo area, which was somewhat anomalous in 1949. There's a three-step tailgate, after a fashion: A sculpted well on the outside of the lower tailgate, a metal piece, swings open horizontally to reveal a full-sized spare tire. The lower tailgate and upper rear windows, framed in ash, hinge open conventionally. But when you look at the spare storage, you can't help but wonder if the whole rear treatment just might have inspired Ford's two-way Doorgate of the middle 1960s.
As with any wood wagon, restoring or owning a P-18 Special Deluxe can be dauntingly labor-intensive. This gorgeous example, owned by Kenny Mack of Metamora, Michigan, has over 80 hours of work involved in sanding its wood alone.
Specifications
Engine: 217.8-cu.in. L-head straight-six, with 7.0:1 compression
Horsepower: 97 @ 3,600 RPM
Torque: 175 @ 1,200 RPM
Fuel system: Single Carter Type BB Model D6H1 carburetor
Transmission: Three-speed manual, column shift
Wheelbase: 118.5 inches
Weight: 3,361 pounds
Price new: $3,443
Price today: $90,000

This article originally appeared in the May, 2014 issue of Hemmings Motor News.